The Atonement of Yashiro Uzuki
by llamachan
Summary: Before she was a Reaper, she was a Player. Before she was a Player, she was just a girl. What's the force that's really driving Uzuki?
1. Ordinary Day

This is my first attempt at writing for TWEWY, but thanks to my love of the minor characters, I had a plot bunny that's just not going away. =) So here it is, the start of fleshing out Uzuki. It's unbetaed, and I will happily accept any criticisms whatsoever (or a beta!) Enjoy!

It all started with a note tossed onto Uzuki's desk.

Pretending not to notice, she waited until her droning English teacher turned to write on the board before she unfolded it.

_ren thinks ur hotttt! 3 saori_

Uzuki rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh as she scribbled back a reply to her best friend.

_ya rite, hes a nerd! no way. r we still going 2 104 after skool?_

She managed to toss it just before Ms. Tokuda suddenly whipped around and glared daggers at her mostly asleep students. "Perhaps Miss Yashiro and Miss Deguchi would like to write on the board in English, if they like writing so much."

Uzuki groaned and straightened out her uniform skirt as she reluctantly accepted the chalk from her teacher's hand. She couldn't help it if she wasn't paying attention, it was surprisingly hot in the classroom and wearing her winter uniform didn't help matters. Not to mention that English was her worst subject (well, second to worst, if home ec counted.) But none of that mattered, as she would graduate from the hell of Koyo Senior High in two weeks. _Two weeks_, and then off to college in April. No more uniforms, no more scrubbing the floors after school, no more being forced to eat oden at lunch when she forgot to bring hers (and after the second year boys' stunt, sneaking out to 7/11 during lunch break was nearly impossible.) First, however, came the impossible task of answering the homework questions. Sure, she _meant_ to do it, but then Dragon Ash was on her favorite variety show and she _had_ to watch it, and then spent hours texting frantically on her phone and hey, homework took a back seat to that!

"What's the answer to number three?" Saori hissed. Her English was even worse than Uzuki's, if that was even possible.

Uzuki stared at the Japanese, trying to put together any translation, no matter how bad it was. At least the vocabulary words were the ones on the daily quiz. "You don't join?"

"Why don't you join us," Ms. Tokuda corrected. She shook her head as she saw Uzuki and Saori's attempts at answering the questions. "I'm assigning this homework again, along with your workbook and homework prints. Next time, do it."

Before the class could wake up enough to protest, the bell rang to signal the end of the school day and the start of the weekend.

"Miss Yashiro and Mr. Nakamura, please stay for a moment?" Ms. Tokuda gave them both a pointed look. Uzuki looked frantically at Saori, who shrugged helplessly and made motions to meet her in front of the school gate.

Uzuki watched miserably as Saori waved and slid the classroom door shut, off to perform her cleaning duties. At least staying behind got her out of that.

"First off, Mr. Nakamura, I wanted to congratulate you on the recent exam. You have the highest score out of the entire school."

Nakamura Ren, who had to be the nerdiest boy in school to Uzuki's standards, blushed and stammered out his thanks.

"Meanwhile, Miss Yashiro…" Ms. Tokuda sighed and shook her head. "Miss Yashiro, you've been admitted to Toho Gakuen, but they can revoke your admission if you don't bring up your grades."

"What?" Uzuki's mouth hung open in shock. Toho was a music college, she was going there to major in violin, not English! "They can't do that!"

"They can, and they will." There was an edge of finality in her voice. "Therefore, Mr. Nakamura, while I know that you also have tests coming up, I'm requesting that you tutor Miss Yashiro."

"…Really?" Ren was trying his best to hide it, but Uzuki could see the start of a smile. She sighed, this was turning out to be the worst Friday of her life!

"You can use this classroom during lunch break. I expect you both to be here, Miss Yashiro."

A lightbulb went off in Uzuki's head. "Can Sa-Miss Deguchi come too? She needs help." Having Saori there would make the lessons more interesting, at least.

Her teacher pursed her lips, considering. If her best friend came along, then it was more likely that Uzuki would show up to the lessons, not to mention that she was right, they both needed the extra work. "That's up to Mr. Nakamura."

"I don't mind!" Ren blurted out, a little too quickly for Uzuki's taste. At least it would be more fun with Saori, and she really didn't want to lose her admission to Toho. The auditions and interviews were grueling, but she had shown herself to be a top performer, enough for admission _and_ a great scholarship.

When Uzuki put her mind to something, she was the top. Unfortunately, English class wasn't one of those things.

"Then you can start Monday," their teacher declared. "When Miss Yashiro and Miss Deguchi complete their homework. Mr. Nakamura, I'm counting on you to make sure that their answers are correct."

"Of-of course, Ms. Tokuda," Ren answered in English, much to their teacher's delight. All of her hard work hadn't been for nothing, even if she happened to have students more interested in the latest idols than present participles.

"Fine. Excuse me," Uzuki muttered, quickly bowed and ran like hell out of the building. Saori's figure was getting closer, and as soon as she reached her, it was off on the train to 104. Sure, Ikebukuro had great shopping, but nothing beat her hometown.

"Yashiro-_san!_"

She ignored Ren's attempts to keep up with her and sped up, as much as she could. The gap between her and Saori narrowed enough for Uzuki to grab her hand and keep running, not breaking her pace at all.

"Uzuki! What's going on?" Saori tried to keep up with her best friend. While used to her sudden bursts of speed, she definitely didn't have the same sort of stamina. "The sales are going on all weekend, just chill!"

"Yashiro-san! Deguchi-san! Wait!"

"…Gotcha."

Uzuki couldn't help but to laugh at Saori's sudden realization. "Let's go!"

It wasn't until Uzuki and Saori emerged from 104, laden with bulging shopping bags that they were sure that they had lost Ren in the shuffle. Friday evening and Shibuya was packed with students searching for the latest deals, businessmen walking into the izakayas they would later pour out of, and the scant beginnings of the club crowd, which wouldn't pick up until much later.

"I was serious. You know, about the note?"

Uzuki stopped pushing through the crowd for a moment to glance sideways at Saori. "Seriously? He thinks he has a chance?"

Saori laughed and pushed her hair behind her ears, then dug in one of her massive bags for a clip. "It's not like your dating calendar has been filling up, girl."

That elicited a snort out of Uzuki. "Hello, college boys in two weeks! I'm not interested in high school boys anymore." They were far too immature for her refined tastes. The clerk in Go-Go Gear had even guessed her to already be a college student!

"You know…he is kind of cute," Saori pointed out. "And dork-cute is so in right now."

"Just because he has cool glasses doesn't make him kind of cute." She had to admit to herself that he probably would be cute in other circumstances, but in almost every other class, they were incredibly competitive with tests and constantly fought for the top spot. "And…crap, is that him?" She pointed in the direction of 104 Men's, to a boy in the same school uniform.

Saori's eyes widened. "Uzuki. I think he's trying to impress you. Why else would he shop here?"

Good taste in clothes was something that Uzuki could approve of. She squinted, trying to make out the small bag that he was carrying. "Is that…ohmigod, is that a Pegaso bag?"

"He has _taste_," Saori marveled. "You're letting this one get away?"

"Not just taste, he has _money_." Uzuki had never seen stores that sold Pegaso ever have a sale, no matter how much she drooled over it. Suddenly, Ren seemed profitable.

She grabbed Saori again and started covertly following him towards the train station, trying to stay far enough away so that they could "accidentally" bump into him. Even through the thick crowd, Ren stood out simply because of his small shopping bag.

They squeezed through the station entrance, and Uzuki breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ren head to the Keio line. She had to take that to go home anyway, and while crowded, it would be easy enough to start up a conversation. A bit of deft footwork (and a lot of shoving on Saori's part) got them onto the same car just before the doors closed. A bit more, and Uzuki was close enough to reach out and tap him on his shoulder, snapping Ren out of his reverie of staring out the window.

"Y-Yashiro-san," he greeted, quickly shoving his purchase into his schoolbag. "I spoke to our teacher after you left, and-"

"Oh, did she agree that Saori and I both need lessons?" Uzuki asked brightly, even though she was dying inwardly at the thought of asking. "Because we can totally start on Monday. Or, you know…" She smiled, going in for the kill. "Even earlier."

"Tomorrow?" Ren suggested. Uzuki could hear the hope in his voice. "We have orchestra in the morning, but after that…"

"I have soccer," Saori added. "But it's okay, I mean you and Uzuki can get a head start!"

Uzuki was about to protest when the train lurched violently and suddenly came to a dead stop in between stations. And no matter how she phrased it in her head, she had to admit that their teacher had a good idea. She really did need the help, even if it did come from the nerd.

_The nerd with money,_ she reminded herself.

The conductor's voice came over the intercom, apologizing for the delay, technical problems with the train, but they'd be on the way shortly.

"After orchestra sounds good," she agreed. She could gloat beforehand, seeing as though she was first chair and Ren trailed behind her in third, and she was the one with the admission to Toho.

Granted, that was because Ren was going to Todai. Life was not fair.

The train lurched again and slowly started again, and Uzuki looked ahead, some scenery so that she didn't have to listen to Ren's half-assed attempts at flirting.

She was also the first passenger to see the other train, headed in the wrong direction. "Is that…"

"WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" Saori screamed, starting the panic radiating down the train. The three teenagers fought for space to hide, tried to help the businessmen yank the doors open as mothers tried to stop their children from screaming while hiding their own sobs _while the train kept barreling and the elderly steeled their nerves and the lone tourist couple hit the floor trying to lessen the impact and-_

When she regained consciousness, the only thing Saori registered was the slumped over forms of injured _god she hoped they were just injured_ people.

She was injured herself, she could feel blood dripping from a cut on her head. But she could move, just a few scratches.

"Uzuki? Nakamura?" Saori wondered and tried to make her way through the mass of people on the floor. "Guys, where are you?"

That's when she noticed the familiar plaid of her school skirt on a body propped up by a steel pole, slumped over to reveal the massive head wound.

The boy next to her lay facedown on the floor. Both of them unmoving.

That was when Saori realized that the train was eerily silent.

Until she began to scream.


	2. Messages

Summer break for my students means that I get to sketch out a bit more. :) Thanks for the reviews so far, hopefully you'll enjoy the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

* * *

When Uzuki regained consciousness, she found herself sitting near the bus terminal of Shibuya station.

Strange, her head wasn't aching anymore. She didn't seem to have scratches or bruising, and why wasn't she on the train anymore?

"Saori?" She called out, trying to find her best friend through the crowd. Had she fallen asleep? Even so, it would be really unlikely that Saori would have left her there, they were best friends!

Not to mention that all her shopping bags were gone, along with her schoolbag. She could feel her mobile in the pocket of her shirt, but other than that, her belongings had disappeared.

Great, robbed and abandoned in Shibuya.

"HEY!" She yelled out, trying to grab anyone's attention. "Hey, I've been robbed! Someone help!"

"You've got more things to worry about than that, kid," someone chuckled behind her. Uzuki turned, startled, and found herself at eye-level with a skeleton hoodie. Now those, she could never understood how they got popular, they were so _tacky_.

"What are you-" Before she could get the question out of her mouth, the man was heading in the other direction.

"Check your phone, I'm not Information Central. One last piece of advice, kid. Start running."

Quizzically, Uzuki flipped open her phone and was surprised to find a message, considering her phone hadn't beeped. She opened it, not recognizing the sender.

_Congratulations, you're dead!_

_Let's play a little Game, shall we? You've got nothing else to lose._ _Win, and gain the chance to come back to life. Lose and be erased. _

_Step one, partner up. Step two, reach 104 within 60 minutes. Oh, and do be careful, we don't want to be erased into oblivion on the first day, do we?_

_The Game lasts for seven days, Miss Yashiro. Your musical talent has been taken as your entry fee-how badly do you want it back?_

_We'll find out._

_Kisses, _

_The Reapers_

"Dead?" Uzuki looked bewildered at the message, not quite comprehending the message. "I'm DEAD?" She didn't remember _dying_, she remembered being on the train with Saori and Ren and then-

"It crashed," she whispered, realizing. "The train crashed and I-I _died_."

"And we have a winner!" A voice dripping with sarcasm called out. Uzuki whirled around, seeing the same man from before.

"What's it to you, carrot-top?" She growled, trying to sound menacing-or as menacing as she could in a high school uniform. She had only seen the guy for a few minutes and he was already pissing her off.

"You don't listen, do you? I told you, run."

"Run…" Crap, what did the message say again? _Partner up._ "Wait, what about-"

The guy had disappeared. As a matter of fact, Uzuki noticed, everyone had disappeared. Instead, she heard a strange gurgling, something beastly and definitely not what she had ever seen before.

They looked like the lizards that would hang out around her bedroom window, if those lizards grew to quintuple their regular size, had odd, tattoo-like markings, and were chasing after her like some juicy fly. That was when she decided to take the guy's advice and run as fast as she could. If this wasn't a dream or some kind of joke, she didn't want to be screwed out of her chances.

No luck. The creatures surrounded her, and Uzuki lashed out with a kick, trying to break free of the tight circle they had created. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, drowning out the hisses and snarls of these creatures that couldn't have existed in Japan, let alone anywhere in the world.

"The only way out is up, isn't it?"

Despite her marks in English, Uzuki was far from stupid. She jumped, landing on one of the creature's heads with a well-aimed heel and broke free of the creatures, then raced away as fast as she could. Couldn't they have at least given her a weapon or something? Even her schoolbag at least had textbooks that she could slam on things.

When she was clear, she slunk against the station wall, trying to catch her breath.

"YASHIRO-SAN!"

Now that was a familiar voice, and despite knowing who it was, she welcomed it. "Nakamura!"

"Partner with me," Ren begged, casting a nervous glance behind him. Uzuki could see more of the strange lizard-like creatures following him. "Please!"

If they teamed up, could they get rid of them? It was against her better judgment to partner with him, of all people, but she didn't have a whole lot of choices. "Okay, fine!"

She swore that she saw a spark pass between them, and even though she didn't know what it would bring her, a voice in the back of her head nagged her to stick together; she was going to need him.

"Come on, we've got to stop them!" Ren looked ready to charge back into the fray.

"Wait, with _what?_" Uzuki couldn't see any weapons for either of them.

Ren looked at her, perplexed. "What about that gun you're holding?"

Uzuki cast a confused look down at her hand and saw that Ren was right, she had a pistol in hand, and no idea where it came from. And while she had never handled one before, she had watched enough movies to figure it out. Pull the trigger, fire.

She gritted her teeth and steeled herself. If she was going to win, this was only the first step. "Let's go."

As soon as she jumped back into the fray, Ren disappeared. She was about to yell, wonder why he begged her to partner and then vanish, but she could feel him near her, even if she couldn't see him. The creatures were hissing and recoiling, attacking an invisible opponent.

With nothing else to lose, Uzuki raised her gun and fired, shocked at the strange blue bullet that came out of it. It didn't behave like the bullets in the movies-instead, it seemed to follow the lizards wherever they went before hitting them.

But they were growing weaker, she could tell. Less organization, more blind searching and slower movements. Far easier to hit. Uzuki took aim and cheered when she saw her bullet go directly to a lizard's skull. Instead of what she expected, a body remaining in the street, it disappeared into static.

_What kind of thing is this?_

A few more shots and the rest of the lizards disappeared, leaving coins and colorful buttons in their wake. Uzuki picked a handful up, curious at the designs. She could have sworn she had seen one at Edoga the week before, wasn't it a Sheep Heavenly pin?

Ren reappeared, looking startled, but none the worse for wear. "Stupid…stupid Noise!"

"Noise?" Uzuki asked.

Instead of explaining, Ren pointed straight ahead. "We only have ten minutes. Let's get to 104, now!"

"I'll tell you when we get there," he added as an afterthought and broke into a run, Uzuki on his heels.

Thankfully, without the so-called Noise attacking them head-on (and the walls already broken by Players ahead of them,) the pair reached the target within the final minutes, leaving them both to breathe easily.

"So we're here." Uzuki leaned against the building, kind of relishing not having to force herself through the crowds. "Now, what do you know?"

"Always down to business. Did you get an email about what we're doing?"

"You mean-how we're dead and everything?" Ren confirmed her fears with a nod.

"It's not all bleak, though," he offered, trying to get her spirits up. "We could win this thing! My email said that most people get erased on the first day, so we're already a step ahead of the crowd."

Uzuki pursed her lips together. True, they had cleared the first mission. "What about those lizard things, though?"

Ren flipped open his phone to study the email he had received. "Noise. The message I have says that they're monsters and that, well…we'll have to fight a lot of them. That's part of the Game."

"Fighting monsters," Uzuki said dryly. "I'll leave the video games to my little brothers, thanks."

"Don't fight them and you'll never _see_ your little brothers again," he reminded her.

If Uzuki had to pick one thing to look forward to in coming back to life, her little brothers definitely weren't it. "Oblivion doesn't seem so bad right now."

Ren stared at her, shocked. "What's _wrong_ with you? What did they take, anyway?" That definitely didn't sound like the Uzuki he knew.

"My music." By the look on Ren's face, though, she could tell that he didn't believe her. "I'm serious, look!"

Ren waved her off. "No, I believe you. Just that…well, I wouldn't trust any emails from the Reapers, you know."

"Then what are we supposed to do? I've never been dead before!" Like everyone else, she had thought about it, but fighting for her right to exist never really came into play. "Not to mention that you've got more answers than I do, Nak-"

"R-Ren," he corrected with a bit of a stammer. "We have to work together, right? Shouldn't we call each other by our first names?"

Ren was definitely a lot shorter, and even though Uzuki felt the slightest tinge of nervousness, she could see how it was useful. "You've got more answers than I do, Ren."

His cheeks went pink. "I…I just talked to some people, that's all," he stammered out. "And my phone-"

At that moment, Uzuki's phone chirped out the first few notes of the latest Orange Range song, and she opened up her mail expectantly. "Another mission?"

_So you survived. Well done. Of course, we didn't expect anything less._

_This is Underground Shibuya, the UG. Everyone you can speak with-even myself-is dead. It's a dangerous place, full of monsters of all varieties. With a bit of luck-scratch that, make that a whole lot of luck-you'll be back in a week. _

_You have no say in your fate, Miss Yashiro. We decide, and we are watching. Put on a good show, will you?_

_Kisses. _

_PS-Tell Mr. Nakamura that he won't be harmed._

Uzuki read out the last line slowly, unsure of why the addendum was attached to her email. Couldn't he have gotten one on his own?

"Ren?"

He wasn't listening, only staring at Uzuki's candy-colored phone through his thick, owlish glasses.

"Ren?"

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "It's nothing."

Uzuki turned back to her phone, trying to make more sense of the message.

But as she was finding out, nothing would ever make sense.


	3. And The Sky

And here we have the third chapter! Few notes about this one: Why yes, I did skip a few mission days. Blame my lack of creativity for that one. :) Also, Club Asia is an actual livehouse in Shibuya, next door to O-East (A-West in game is the counterpart to two large stage spaces, O-East and O-West.) All Night Nippon is exactly as written, a pretty popular all night radio show. Picking up some steam in this chapter! Thank you so much for all the reviews and tips I've received so far, you're really helping me with my writing!

* * *

The next three missions had gone by in a blur, all reaching points and fighting Noise and strange messages sent to Uzuki's phone.

_Having fun, Miss Yashiro? This is a Game, you know._

_We never expected you to make it this far. Exceeding expectations? Well, you do that best._

_We're just dying to meet you. Pun not intended. Kisses!_

For something that involved her life, Uzuki was finding it all rather boring. No imagination, no creativity, just run and catch and make sure that the timer didn't run out before getting to the right building or district. There were the walls to deal with, and the always present Noise, but Uzuki never felt as though she made any progress. No matter how many Noise they eliminated, more always came. It was like trying to drown a fish.

The next time Uzuki checked her phone, it was dusk in Shibuya. Businesses were starting to close up and denizens were heading home, unaware of being watched by two members of the newly dead. She winced as she saw girls heading into 104, even some she recognized. It wasn't fair, that she had to sit and wait and watch to get the chance to come back to life.

"Hey."

Uzuki looked up to see Ren extending a go-cup full of coffee to her. "Figured you might need this, since we don't have the mission yet."

"Thanks." She accepted the coffee and stared at her phone again, wondering exactly what was taking so long. "You know anything yet?"

"No." Ren settled down beside her and stared out, watching the bustle of people and sighed deeply. "You think they know we're here?"

"Course not. They probably think we're in a better place or something." Uzuki let out a bitter laugh. "You know, harps and angels and all that." Not in a game, where everything was possible, supposedly.

Ren stayed quiet for a few moments, then took a long sip of his coffee. "Why don't you want to come back to life?"

Uzuki sputtered, nearly spilling her coffee down her blouse. "What makes you say that?"

"Remember chemistry class last year, with Mitsuishi-sensei?"

"How could I forget? You were my lab partner." They had fought like cats and dogs, each vying for the top spot in class and edging out each other on fractions of points on tests. Their rivalry that year was infamous in school, enough that when Mitsuishi-sensei announced the year's top student at the end of the term, both of them came close to fainting when it turned out to be Saori, who had spent so much time studying with Uzuki that she had simply absorbed all the information.

She, of course, had actually fainted.

"And orchestra," Ren continued.

"That was no contest," Uzuki sniffed. She had been the top violin player ever since she had picked one up as a child, and happily rubbed it in his face at every opportunity.

She looked out into the ever-busy streets as memories of orchestra filled her head, the endless hours of practice and auditions, recitals and critiques, blood, sweat, and tears. All of her hard work, destroyed in one stupid accident.

"…Even if I come back, I won't be able to play, will I?" Uzuki's stomach turned at the thought, and she wanted to scream, scream at the living that this wasn't fair, scream to Ren that they shouldn't have died, out of anyone else in the world, they shouldn't have been thrown into this bizarre running Game, fighting and dodging and struggling to survive. Her fists clenched and she stood up, splattering her half-finished coffee on the shop steps. "This is NOT fair!"

Her scream oddly echoed in the air, and she realized that she was the most alone she had ever been. It filled her ears, filled the eerie silence around them even though the streets were packed with people, who couldn't see her, hear her, and carried on like she didn't exist. And in a way, she didn't.

"Feel better?" Ren asked, wincing a bit from the sharp noise.

"…No," she whispered. "No, I don't." The emptiness was hitting her hard and fast, and the more she watched, the angrier she felt. Angry that she and Ren were both shoved into the Game, angry that Saori had to believe they were gone forever, angry that she lost her parents, friends, and future plans in one blow.

She slumped over the steps, resting her head on her knees. Uzuki's carefully constructed world had crashed down over her ears, and now she was facing the consequences. "If I wasn't on that train…"

"…I would have been erased," Ren said with finality in his voice.

"You could have found another partner."

Wordlessly, Ren flipped open his phone and showed his first message.

_Well well, Mr. Nakamura. You're dead. Doesn't that suck? That's rhetorical, we're all dead here and we quite like it._

_In case you feel that death doesn't suit you, we're giving you the chance of a lifetime, pun intended. Just play our Game. You don't quite have a choice in this. See, we've taken something very important to you. But don't worry, we haven't hurt Yuu. Not yet, at least._

_There's only one person left without a partner who's still in the Game, Mr. Nakamura. Find her, and you just may have a chance. Of course, you could always ruin all your chances with Miss Yashiro, couldn't you?_

_Kisses!_

"Who's Yuu?" Uzuki asked, barely skimming over the last few lines. Sure, Ren would have been erased from existence, but at least she wouldn't have been _dead_.

"My brother," he replied quietly. "I haven't seen him in a few years."

A person. They had taken another person, someone who for all intents and purposes was still supposed to be alive, just like they were. And if Ren had gotten erased…

Still, it couldn't have been all that bad, right? Erased from existence, really? Uzuki didn't believe that. Even in her little brothers' video games, the ultimate game over could be restored with a save. "How can they do anything to someone still living?"

Ren gripped her shoulders with surprising force, enough to stand both of them up. "Don't you get it? They can do anything, you know! Change the universe, make night day, make black white! Killing someone isn't exactly a huge feat for these reapers!"

"You're wrong on that, actually." An irritatingly familiar voice, and Uzuki pushed Ren's hand away to turn and see the irritatingly familiar orange hair. "We're not allowed to actually go and kill people. Everything else is true, though."

Something in his voice sounded far too smug for Uzuki's liking, and she suddenly became more aware of the gun digging into her thigh. "Looking to fight us, carrot?"

"_Kariya_," he corrected, sounding lackadaisical underneath the smugness. "Uzuki, right? Sounds like the name of a bunny girl. And no, I'm not looking to fight. I have your next mission, should you choose to accept it."

Within a moment, Uzuki's gun was out and pointed straight at Kariya. "BUNNY GIRL?"

"Uzuki!" Ren wrenched the gun upwards, trying to avoid a fight. "Mission!" He wasn't sure about Uzuki, but he wanted to go back to his normal life.

Uzuki sighed, frustrated. "There's nothing on our phones."

"Special delivery," Kariya clarified and extended two pieces of paper. On closer inspection, Uzuki could tell they were tickets. "Our current Game Master has decided that you are all to enjoy the show."

Uzuki looked at him, suddenly wary. "Enjoy the show?"

"Hey, I don't write the script. Now get cracking, I already met my quota. Don't feel like working hard when I simply don't have to."

The two players huddled over the tickets, carefully poring over the information.

"They look normal," Ren said thoughtfully. "Club Asia, 8 PM…and this is a ba-"

"DEF MARCH?" Uzuki squealed loud enough to cause the dead pain, as Ren had his hands firmly clamped over his ears. She scooped up the tickets and carefully stuck them in her shirt pocket.

"Good band?" Ren asked weakly.

"Well of course you don't know them." Uzuki rolled her eyes. "They're just the coolest band ever! Totally indie, and they were the best hosts on All Night Nippon last month!"

"…If they were on All Night Nippon, they're definitely not indie. Even my mom listens to that."

Uzuki froze. "Your _mom_ listens to All Night Nippon?" What was she doing listening to the hottest all night radio show in the country? "Besides, they're playing at Club Asia. You know that's a tiny livehouse, right?" That was totally indie cred, after all, if they were big, they'd be playing in Odaiba or A-East or somewhere else really big.

Ren shrugged. "I've never been. Not interested, really." He checked his phone. "If the show's starting at seven, we've gotta get going. Where is it, anyway?"

"Near A-West," Uzuki replied immediately and stood up, coffee and angst long forgotten. "Come on, we only have ten minutes before doors open!" If she didn't have anything else to lose, at least she could see 777 in concert before resigning herself to oblivion.

Club Asia was one of the few venues that Uzuki could sneak into without an ID, and she and Saori often slipped in to see their favorite, more accessible bands. She had gotten tons of autographs that way (no phone numbers, which kind of pissed her off, she totally passed for nineteen!) The stage was small and even a tiny audience made it seem overly packed. Uzuki had spent several Saturday nights in front, moshing and flirting with the best of them and then explaining away her bruises to her folks ("Soccer practice. Yeah, the ball hit my neck, Saori doesn't have the best aim.")

Tonight, however, was different. The woman at the front barely glanced at their tickets before waving them in, and Uzuki could see why. The line behind them was massive, and there were definitely going to be people turned away.

Ren nudged her. "How many do you think are Players?"

Uzuki searched the crowd, looking for nervous, hunted eyes and the ubiquitous pins, attached to jackets or skirts. She slowly shook her head, not having seen any for the moment, but just as she started to speak, a loud chord signaled the start of the show. Uzuki grabbed Ren's hand and raced to the front of the crowd, ignoring his pleadings for mercy-after all, it was a chance to show to her latest idols how hot she really was!

The band strode on stage, playing the opening notes of their most energetic song-with the exception of the lead singer and Uzuki's dream man. He had to make a dramatic entrance, she reasoned. She had seen enough lives to know that it was entirely possible.

And she was not disappointed. Her screams joined those of the other girls watching 777 descend from the ceiling on the band's trademark elaborate black wings, crafted so well that Uzuki couldn't even see the wires.

If this was a mission, it was definitely the best mission ever. She didn't even catch Ren trying to get her attention.

Here, she was in her element. Lost in the music, the pulse, the grind and flow of bodies in the mosh pit. This was being alive, surrounded by fellow Def March lovers, screaming her lungs out, inhaling stale cigarette smoke and smelling beer on everyone's breath. She didn't mind that her makeup smeared, that she was flailing around like an idiot, because she was _alive_ and _completely enraptured_. Her violin didn't have the same high-octane feel to it, but as a musician, she could understand. She saw the exhausted but beaming smiles of the band and knew exactly what they were feeling, and was overjoyed to take part in the experience, no matter the price.

When Ren finally grabbed her elbow and pulled her away from the pit, she was beyond irritated. She was unable to understand Rent rhough the crowd's screaming and the wail of electric guitars, but when he held up his hand, she understood.

_The clock. The clock was still ticking._

The once-lively club seemed to take on a darker tone, the more that Uzuki looked out. The music had slowed to a slow, unearthly beat, almost as if it was being played underwater. The audience members' dancing became slower and slower until they seemed frozen, only the tiniest movements alerting Uzuki to the fact that they were still human.

"Ren," Uzuki breathed, suddenly noticing. "The-the wings!"

"Reapers," Ren confirmed. "There's no way-"

The music suddenly ended, and 777 stepped up to the mike, a cruel smirk on his normally handsome face.

"_Anything is possible, and nothing is what it seems."_

A harsh shriek filled the air and Noise materialized, the largest one the pair had encountered yet.

"Let's GO!" Ren yelled, and Uzuki felt herself drawn into the fight. A boar, it looked like. A large, hulking boar charging _right towards them_. It seemed almost like a movie, with the concert still going on in the background; a fitting soundtrack as Uzuki raised her gun and fired, as much as she could, happy that she never had to worry about reloading.

A moment's hesitation, and she screamed, the boar's sharp tusks slicing over her arms. Despite the pain, despite her sudden, odd want for oblivion, Uzuki's hand gripped the gun even tighter and she fired like a madman, forgetting about aiming and just firing every which way, feeling satisfied after every blast.

She suddenly dropped to the ground, the pain becoming more and more intense as the Noise leapt towards her and disappeared into its static. It had to have been Ren's blow.

She came back on the empty stage, the band gone and yet the audience still there. A sudden chill ran through her body and the screams started again; the audience grew smaller and smaller, seemingly just disappearing.

A final scream and she was alone in the club with only a single light to guide her.

"Ren?" Uzuki called out. "Ren, where are you?"

There was no response, but she could hear strangled, startled panting.

"Ren?"

She found him in a corner, staring at his phone, a frozen look of terror on his face.

"Players," he whispered and clutched his phone tighter. Despite the darkness, Uzuki could see his hand shaking. "They-"

She could just barely make out the message on his phone's tiny screen.

_A nice clearing-out for our number one fan._

_Mr. Nakamura._

_Miss Yashiro._

_Two Players remaining._

_Let's meet._

_The Reapers_


	4. Falling Down

And the final Game story, woo! No more battles to write for awhile! :D Thanks so much for the reviews, reading all of your feedback is really helping me with the story flow. Please enjoy!

* * *

_Let's meet._

Uzuki hadn't let go of Ren's phone. It remained clutched in a white-knuckled death grip as they huddled in the now-empty club, whose sudden silence was now deafening.

People. So many people, erased in a heartbeat. No bodies, no possessions, just emptiness. It would have been easier to accept if there was something, some sort of proof as to what had happened, not just total vanishing. Ren was right all along, there was no respect for the living here, and she should have been wary all along. Everything, gone.

Even if she screamed, it would be swallowed in the encompassing darkness.

"What do we do?"

Uzuki's whisper, barely enough to break the silence, was enough to startle Ren out of his trance.

"I-I don't know."

The soft click of the door opening startled both of them, and they immediately rose, ready to fight. While neither could see the intruder, Uzuki knew it was bad news, it had to be. She yanked out her gun and started aiming carelessly, searching for the source of the heavy footsteps in the darkness.

"Put that away," a gruff, stern-sounding voice commanded next to Uzuki's ear. "S'only good on the Noise, anyway."

Uzuki jumped, stumbled backwards into Ren, and they both ended up crashing onto the floor. Still, despite the man's warning, Uzuki's gun remained out, now wary of anyone who dared cross her path. "Who are you?" She demanded.

A lighter flicked and sparked open, and Uzuki could make out the profile of an older-looking man, probably in his thirties or so. "Me? Hanekoma. Club Asia janitor."

"No you're not," Ren muttered as he extricated himself out of the heap and brushed off. "You're that guy who owns the coffee shop we can go into."

The man chuckled, a sound that didn't stop Uzuki from dropping her gun, keeping it pointed steadily at him. "Can't fool ya for a second, Ren. This your partner?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "She's—"

"—not convinced," Uzuki finished his sentence.

"Not Convinced? Funny name your parents decided on." The laugh came again, and while Uzuki could tell it wasn't malicious, something about it made her very wary.

"Uzuki," she corrected, feeling more than a bit frustrated. "I'm Uzuki." What was wrong with people in the UG, anyway? First the carrot-top, and now the so-called janitor-slash-coffee shop owner.

"All right, NC, gotcha." Uzuki's exasperation served only for more of Hanekoma's amusement.

The first statement he made got Uzuki thinking, however. "If you're just a shop owner," she asked warily, "how do you know about Noise?"

"People talk in coffee shops." Hanekoma scratched his chin. "Not to mention it's hard not noticin' that huge mark on the wall." Uzuki knew exactly what he was talking about, the odd skull and bones. But there was one on 109, too, and she could have sworn up and down she had never seen it until the UG…not that she really looked at the building that much, anyway.

Uzuki slowly turned to Ren, trying to confirm what she was hearing.

"He's not a Reaper," Ren pointed out. "See, no wings." Hanekoma turned; sure enough they weren't there. Uzuki relaxed, but only slightly. There was information to gather in the club, and even though it was the site of a massacre earlier, she had to know the truth, what happened and why. Something in her stomach told her that the newcomer had surprises up his sleeve.

"What happened here?" Uzuki asked, once her voice was steady. The vanishings, even though she knew that they happened regularly, had thrown her off-balance. She couldn't see herself doing one; how could the organizers of this so-called Game live with themselves?

It wasn't fair, and Uzuki didn't want to associate herself with something that repulsive.

The back of her neck prickled when Hanekoma didn't answer right away. Instead, he glanced around the stage area as if looking for something, but he seemed to come up empty-handed.

"It's not really in their style to do such a huge erasure," she heard him mutter, as if trying to make sense of it.

_A weird comment for someone who was just a shop owner_ was the first thought that came to Uzuki's mind, but it never really processed.

"The Powers That Be apparently wanted a quick Game, didn't they?" To Uzuki's eyes, it looked like the finality of the moment was sinking in with the man. "Especially with a Game this massive."

"…Massive?" Uzuki ventured.

"Read the paper, the morning after the train crash," Hanekoma said casually. "There was only one survivor. Everyone plays the Game. Except the survivor, of course."

Uzuki froze, thinking of her fellow passengers. The mothers with the crying children, the elderly couples, the businessmen and the college kids.

"All of them?" she whispered.

Hanekoma remained silent.

The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach grew stronger. But Uzuki didn't cry, she didn't scream or ask questions. Instead, her fists clenched at her sides and she straightened up. "Ren." There was newfound command in her voice, enough to startle him out of contemplation.

"Y-yeah?"

"We've got to live." The underlying determination in Uzuki's voice was clear. She straightened up and steeled her nerves, the goal now in sight. "We've got to live and show that we can't be erased."

Ren's jaw dropped. "And you weren't interested a few hours ago?"

No, she wasn't. But the reality of the situation, the people disappearing _right before her eyes_ for the simple mistake of getting on the wrong train?

She grabbed Ren's wrist firmly, started dragging him to the door. "Come on. We're going to meet this Reaper guy and defeat him. No one said we couldn't win this game." She dragged him towards the door, completely missing Hanekoma's sly wink to Ren and slinking away.

"So for your music and my brother?" Ren asked, as best as he could while stumbling over his own feet. Uzuki wasn't allowing for any time to gain his balance.

Uzuki shook her head. It was beyond that now, beyond their personal dreams and goals. "Bigger than that!"

Ren's attitude was clicking, and she understood. Save the life. Save the life, and those meaninglessly destroyed would still live.

She'd never admit it, but there were times that she figured that he was smarter than she was. But only sometimes.

"We can do this," Ren encouraged. "And, uh…hey." Uzuki stopped for a moment, glancing back at him, still determined on the next goal (wherever that was).

"Yeah?"

"When…when we go back…I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime?" Ren's question came out quickly as the words tumbled over each other.

_Nerd with money,_ a voice in the back of her head reminded her. Despite the social stigma (not that it mattered, she was just about done high school) and the absolute certainty that Saori would laugh at her for years to come, Uzuki nodded. "I…I think I would like that."

Saori was right, too. The glasses were kind of cute.

Uzuki had reached the door and was just about to open it to step out into the night on the hunt when the door opened, yet again.

Ren's arm automatically shot across Uzuki's stomach, keeping her back from the stranger. She was about to turn and ask if it was another one of his creepy friends, but then, she could see why.

The stranger was a woman, tall with well-defined features. She looked collected and professional, but there was something about her that Uzuki couldn't quite put her finger on.

Then she spoke, and it hit Uzuki harder than a rock. Her _eyes_.

_Her eyes weren't human._

She was staring, she knew it. The woman looked at her with a careless disregard; someone who she could throw away with just a single word.

"Mister Nakamura and Miss Yashiro. My final two players." Her lips twisted into a cruel smile. "My name is Yuka Masumoto. I'm the Game Master."

"You did this," Uzuki snarled, gesturing to the empty club behind her. "This was all you!"

Yuka chuckled, a hollow sound that sent shivers through Uzuki's body. "Oh no, my dear. That wasn't me. That was simply the Noise."

"Give us one reason why we shouldn't erase you right now," Ren challenged, already ready to fight.

"Because you'd become what you despise."

Uzuki froze. "Then-our last task?"

"Your last task makes it even easier for me to defeat you." There was that laugh again, the one as empty as her eyes. "Your task is to defeat me. _Now._"

There was no hesitation, Uzuki's gun was out. Ren pushed her arm away, suddenly tense.

"It won't work," he hissed. "Remember what Mr. Hanekoma told us? It only works on Noise!"

The stage lights flipped on again, and Uzuki could see masses of wings. Nothing but Reapers, waiting and watching and probably taking bets on the outcome.

Someone was going to end up erased, and Uzuki was there to make sure that someone wasn't her.

The now-familiar elaborate wings sprung from Yuka's back as she hunched over, the designs from them slowly snaking their way down her skin and spreading, covering her.

_She wasn't human. This wasn't human. Noise._

A large, fire-red bird with the strange wings hovered over them, swooping and pulling them into the fight. Oddly for Uzuki, she could see Ren, unlike in her previous fights. Now they could work together, eliminate the Master, and go home. It was just one more step in a long hard journey, but then life would go back to normal and she could forget all about the odd Game, like it was just a dream. The fact that she would eventually have to play it again didn't even register with her; she wanted her chance. She wanted her music, for Ren to reconcile with his brother, to listen to Saori's teasing and the constant whining of her brothers.

A lick of flame landed near her feet and she jumped, trying to dodge the strange bird raining fireballs from above them.

"Move UP!" Ren yelled, pointing towards the ladder as he tried his techniques, trying to find something, anything that would make a dent. Uzuki understood and scrambled up, swinging her foot over the top of the unsteady ladder as she aimed carefully. There was no room for errors, this Noise was large and powerful and their audience watched silently. Much like in her concerts, Uzuki was determined to give a good show.

_Load, aim fire._ Uzuki tossed in what felt like a thousand clips into the beast, but it seemed as though she wasn't making a dent. It flew and nipped her hands, tore away chunks of Ren's shirt as it gouged his skin. The target was clearly her partner, who had the same lost, confused look on his face. Nothing was working.

The bird screeched, a cry not unlike Yuka's laugh. That was when Uzuki saw it, the dark, prominent patch hidden in its beak. "THERE!" She yelled and pointed frantically at it, hoping that Ren could understand. Her next bullets fell perfectly into the spot, startling it enough to fly more erratically and try to keep its mouth shut.

Impossible. As it tried to breathe, it was met with Uzuki's bullets and Ren's spells, one after the other; its movements becoming less calculated and more erratic. It was losing.

The bird swooped lower to the ground and Uzuki followed, intent on protecting Ren better from the ground. It made no sense, why did she have minor injuries when Ren was being constantly bombarded? The pain was apparently not dissuading Ren as he continued the assault, Uzuki moving more and more in synch the closer their prosimity. It was almost over, it had to be.

This was it; it had fallen to the ground, its beak lolling open as if for a worm. It was near erasure, and time to finish the battle. Before Uzuki could move, however, Ren was in front of her.

"Careful," he warned. "She's not defeated. Not yet."

"One more hit," Uzuki agreed, stopping to reload. One more hit, and…

A loud, high pitched scream suddenly came from the bird and flames erupted, engulfing Ren, forcing him to move towards the bird's mouth. Uzuki grabbed his hand in desperation, not minding the pain and the burning of her palms as she tried to drag him out.

"Don't you DARE!" she yelled. "We're almost there, dammit!"

"The eyes," Ren whispered, his grip becoming weaker. "Aim for her eyes!"

She needed both hands for her weapon. Instead, she held on to Ren's hands tightly and tried to pull as hard as she could.

"Shoot it, Uzuki!" Uzuki could barely hear his words over the pounding of her heart in her ears, the noxious stench of her hands burning.

"SHOOT OR WE'RE BOTH GONERS!"

_Shoot it and we win_, she realized. It couldn't destroy Ren if it were erased!

With trepidation in her heart, she let go of his hands and fired, directly into its pupils.

The bird slammed its beak shut and disappeared into the all-too familiar static.

Uzuki dropped to her knees, trying to reach into the static for any trace of Ren, any human touch.

But when the static disappeared, he was nowhere to be found.

She was cold, so cold.

"REN!" she screamed.

The only answer was a whisper. _"Seven minutes. You haven't won yet."_

Seven…seven _minutes?_

"_Do you want to live?"_ the voice asked again, taunting and cold. _"He's gone. He's erased, I erased him. "_

"No…" This part wasn't real, it wasn't true. Ren was far too strong for something as weak as pointless erasing.

"_Thirty seconds. There's only one way."_

"We want to LIVE!" Uzuki's voice was growing hoarse from the screaming, but her intent was clear.

At that moment, she could feel the same odd sparking feeling that had passed through her bond with Ren, and she fell with a sickening thud into unconsciousness.

_Welcome to the Reapers, Miss Yashiro._


	5. Taking This Road

I'm not dead! This is a short update. I promise I haven't forgotten about this, I've just been busy as everything. :)

* * *

The first thing to hit Uzuki was the strange, unfamiliar smell. It was almost antiseptic, but a strange undertone, smoky and cool.

She kept her eyes shut. If she kept them closed long enough, she would be back in her own bed, her mother yelling for her to get up and get ready for school, then she'd go and gossip with Saori about how Ren had done something else unbearably nerdy and lament her fate. All she had to do was slip into unconsciousness one more time, and…

"You're awake."

Uzuki opened her eyes, and found herself in an unfamiliar room, one that appeared to be a high-class bar of some sort. She slowly sat up, feeling her legs uncramp and stretch as she made her way up to a seated position. There was no use in walking just yet, but she tried anyway.

"No, sit down. Want something?" The woman's voice came again, and Uzuki's eyes slowly focused on the two figures at the bar, their faces concealed in shadow, camly having a drink, as if hundreds of people hadn't been killed, thanks to them. As if _Ren_ wasn't gone forever.

Uzuki folded her arms. "I'm underage," she stated grumpily, even though that hadn't ever stopped her before.

"Carrot juice for the bunny?" There was no questioning who that was, and Uzuki tried to lash out, despite him being too far away to reach.

"Get used to it, Miss Yashiro." The woman's voice was steady, and she walked over, a glass of water in her hand. "You'll want your facilities intact, although we don't quite worry about drinking ages here."

Now that she was closer, Uzuki could see the woman, who had to be partially foreign, with her blonde hair and uncharacteristically blue eyes. She hadn't seen her the night before-if it was the night before, anyway.

She accepted the drink.

"My name is Mitsuki Konishi," the woman started, not bothering to take a seat. "I'm a Reaper Officer, and the person that you'll be reporting to prior to each Game."

_Reaper_. The word still hadn't sunk in, that in her quest to survive she had become what she had learned to despise.

"Glad to make your acquaintance," she managed. Her parents had always told her to be overly polite to superiors, no matter how much she hated them.

"Likewise." Her tone was clipped, almost bored. "And the…I should say _gentleman_ at the bar is Koki Kariya."

"We've met," Kariya said, saluting Uzuki. Uzuki only glared back at him, still fighting the urge to strike. Not that she could, with her partner erased.

"The Composer-I'm sure you've heard of him-has already made a request of you." Konishi sniffed, she couldn't understand the fuss over one little new Reaper-girl. "You will not be starting as Support-therefore, you won't be guarding walls. Instead, you'll be Harrier-class. While we've needed new Harriers for some time, choosing someone with no score-" Konishi stopped herself, finally realizing that Uzuki was lost in the sea of her speech.

"Therefore," she said, preparing to conclude her speech-she did have better things to do, anyway, "after your acceptance to the Reapers, you were immediately partnered with Mr. Kariya."

Uzuki's mouth went dry despite the water. "_Him?_"

"Mr. Kariya is one of our most accomplished Reapers," Konishi said, feeling a headache coming on. Of course, having to give Kariya any sort of responsibility gave anyone a headache. "He'll be responsible for making sure you don't fail miserably in your first Game, which we all hope will be one of many." Now Uzuki could tell that she was reading off a mental speech she had given thousands of times before. "Good luck on your first day, and please remember that now, your existence depends on how many Players you Erase." She turned and left the odd bar, the click of her heels on the glass floor drowning out Uzuki's stunned silence.

The silence hung in the air until Kariya took his beer in hand and sat on the top of the couch, facing away from Uzuki.

"Nice fight yesterday," he said, breaking the silence. "Matsumoto was undefeated 'till she met you guys."

Uzuki set the cup down on a side table, unable to resist the urge to throw it at him. She was officially trapped, and the want for an escape overthrew any urges for the moment. When she had an escape, then she'd throw something at him. Maybe even kill him, in revenge for Ren.

She finally stood up, carefully smoothing out her uniform as she did so. If she had gone to school like that, she would have been severely reprimanded.

"You don't have to wear that anymore," Kariya said, looking amused. "Sure, we can travel to the RG, but you're not a student anymore."

…Not a student. "I can't go to university if I don't finish!"

"And you won't be doing that, either," Kariya said offhandedly. It was something he had clearly seen thousands of times before, even though he hadn't been partnered with the countless others who tried to break out of Reaperdom. "Don't you remember that message about being dead?"

"I'm still dead."

"Think of yourself as a living ghost. That's more accurate." Kariya said, draining his beer and choosing to switch to shoving a lollipop in his mouth. "Your family, your friends. They're not gonna recognize you, even though you can talk to them."

"I'm still _dead_," she whispered, her hands starting to shake.

"Dead with benefits?" Kariya suggested. "The quicker you rise through the ranks, the quicker you ascend. The quicker you don't have to worry about Erasure."

Uzuki stopped. "No…Erasure?"

"Gotta work for that right," Kariya said, thankful he averted a meltdown. "But that's all for orientation. Tonight, you're just getting settled in your new place, then you get lots of on the job training."

"Training? I can insult people without training,." That was what the Harriers seemed to do, after all.

"And you suck at it, kid," Kariya chuckled. "This ain't just insulting. This is having a more interesting life than being a schoolgirl. Far more interesting." He stood up, and Uzuki could see, for once, that he made an intimidating profile. "Get to be the best, and you get to ascend beyond Erasure. But…" he paused, looking not at her, but through her, "…you've got to be beyond the best."

Uzuki stood up, despite her legs threatening to give out at any time. "Best is too easy," she said simply, "and beyond the best even easier."

"And you can do that after you're settled in," Kariya said, heading for the door.

"Wait," Uzuki said, wary of following. "Why are you being nice all of a sudden?"

Kariya didn't answer for a few minutes.

"Cause you've got no idea what you're in for."


	6. 20 Tips

AN: Hey there! I promise I didn't forget this story! :) However, with me being a busy working stiff, my time was fairly limited over the past few months. My time is much more flexible now, although next update will probably be slow as I'm playing through the game again to get more of Uzuki's voice. This chapter is fairly short, think of it as the last interlude between Uzuki's transition from Player to Reaper. As always, comments and crits welcomed, as it's still unbetaed, this is is where I get my feedback. :)

* * *

Uzuki had spent the night huddled over the manual and sitting on her new bed; an apartment that was a far cry from her comfortable room at home. Kariya had unceremoniously given her the keys and told her that the next Game started in the morning.

She finally slammed the book shut and stretched, staring out the window as she did so.

She had never thought about Shibuya's underbelly, the deep, seedy side that only creeped into her thoughts with a simple "be careful around Dogenzaka" and "Roppongi sucks." And now, she was part of an underbelly she didn't know existed.

If she looked closely, she could see the lights of 104 blinking in the distance, the headlights of speeding cars, the neon signs inviting passerby into karaoke parlors, department stores, and love hotels.

And then there she was, alone in a bare apartment, save for minimal furniture and a buzzing overhead light. Kariya had invited her out for a drink, but she declined the offer to study a manual that only had one line that made any sense to her.

_Failure results in Erasure._

A failure that had cost Ren's right to exist. Her palms burned at the memory, and she stared at the scarring on her hands.

_A reminder of failure._

Failure that she couldn't let repeat, even if it meant going against the code she had set up as a Player. The rules had changed, and if she didn't rack up any erasures in the first week, she would be erased, no questions asked. Plus, all she had to do was summon Noise, at least _that_ was indirect.

Not that she was looking forward to that, or the uniform. Uzuki threw open her closet, finding to her disgust, a skeleton hoodie of her very own. As soon as she had a minute-and the money-she'd be going shopping for something a bit more flattering. She pulled it out of her closet and over her head, trying to figure out how exactly to make it look a bit fashionable. Perhaps cutting the bottom, making it a crop top…

A knock on the door interrupted her impromptu fashion show, and she quickly ran to the door only to find Kariya there, letting himself in with a smirk and tossing her a can of chu-hi.

"Figured you weren't a beer drinker," he said in way of greeting.

Uzuki stared at the can in her hand. Peach flavored.

"Careful now. Bunnies aren't supposed to get drunk," he chuckled.

She cracked open the can defiantly. "And what are you doing here, anyway?"

"Making sure you didn't get stage fright." Kariya was wandering through the empty apartment, checking out her new surroundings. "Looks like you got Sosuke's old place."

"Sosuke?" Uzuki asked.

"Brand new Reaper," Kariya said. "Got erased his first day. Didn't get any points."

"…I thought we had a week to erase someone!" Uzuki pointed to the heavy manual on her bed.

He didn't look up from opening his beer. "Thing's only good for a doorstop. You don't erase tomorrow, kid, you're done."

"…You're serious."

Kariya held up his beer. "And if you don't erase, you and me both get erased. Funny how that works, huh? And-" he started before Uzuki could interrupt, "-don't quote the book at me. Higher-ups lie. Don't trust 'em."

"We're bound to the same rules that the Players are," Uzuki realized.

"Someone's getting an A in The Obvious," Kariya said dryly. "Here's another piece of information for you-tomorrow's going to be your easiest points day. Kids refusing to partner, kids not finding a partner-find 'em and toss some Noise before they can react."

"That's not fair," Uzuki said stubbornly.

"To whom?"

"To-"

…Well no, now that she thought about it.

The Players knew the rules, as she remembered from that email on her phone. If they weren't fast enough-she'd take them. It was the same principle that she lived by throughout her school life-if someone wasn't good enough, she'd simply take away the top spot. After all, she was the best.

And if saving herself meant having to erase others to stand on top, that's what it meant.

"To no one," Uzuki concluded.

"A-plus in The Obvious."

Uzuki glanced out the window, where pink streaks were starting to brighten up the night sky. "…Morning."

"Yeah." Kariya drained the rest of his beer and tossed the can. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Shouldn't we get going?"

Kariya looked at her like she had grown a second head. "…Are you serious?"

"You _said_ the Game started in the morning!"

"Not this ear-" Kariya was cut off as Uzuki grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him out of her apartment. Early bird caught the worm, after all.


	7. Stomach vs Heart

Reaper fashion, Uzuki decided, _really_ sucked, more than she thought it would. She had never been of the faux-punk variety, and the company around her as she waited seemed to prefer it. In fact, they probably thought she was like them-okay, while D&B had some awesome lines, she was more of a mix and match kind of girl. She'd have to figure out something later.

Konishi stood in front of the assembled group, next to an impeccably-dressed man, who gave Uzuki an uneasy feeling. A quick whisper from Kariya let her know that he was the infamous Conductor.

"We have," Kitaniji started in an eerily smooth voice, after skipping perfunctory greetings, "126 Players in this round. A relatively small Game, yet due to the Composer's request-" he nodded towards Uzuki, who mentally swore that if he had eyes he'd be boring them directly into her-"-we have a Game. I don't expect this one to run the full seven days, but stranger things have happened. Konishi will be your Game Master this round."

Uzuki tried to pay attention as Konishi went over which Support Reapers were stationed where and what routes were open, but Kariya's yawn and the shifts of irritation among the rest of the Harriers signaled to her that it was information that wasn't geared to her group.

There was more important things to focus on, if Kariya was telling the truth earlier. She'd have to make an Erasure today, or lose her right to existence.

That wasn't exactly a prospect she relished. It wouldn't help her case; it wouldn't bring Ren back to life. Despite being surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of people, she was alone.

"Harriers," Konishi started, snapping both Uzuki and Kariya back to listening. "No survivors this round. No new Reapers, if we can help it. Let's make this a short game, shall we? Dismissed."

The small groups slowly filed out, each scattering to their destination. Kariya simply shrugged and walked out, Uzuki managing to grasp that she was simply to follow wherever he went.

"Ready for your first day, kid?" Kariya finally asked as they drew closer to the scramble, the place where most of the Reapers seemed to be headed.

"I've got to be," Uzuki muttered. "Got to be ready to kill people."

Kariya chuckled. "They're dead, kid. The Noise do the Erasing." He studied the ground, then shook his head and picked an alley to use. "Didn't I tell you that?"

"Isn't Erasing just like killing someone?" Uzuki retorted.

"Now's not the time to have a crisis of conscience, bunny," Kariya warned. "The Players are out to Erase you. Think of them as assassins. The Noise are your highly trained guard dogs."

"Who can also kill me," Uzuki said.

"Nah. They don't bother us. Reapers do have a special connection with the Noise, after all." Kariya stopped his talking to unwrap a wad of bean paste candy and pop it into his mouth, the stick visible from his lips.

"What-" Uzuki started as Kariya held up his hand.

"They're coming."

All around the scramble, tiny flashes of light appeared and disappeared, leaving people in their wake. They stood out among the living, their lost and confused faces growing even more so as a cacophony of phones buzzed with their first message.

"They get a head start," Kariya informed quietly. "As soon as your phone rings, that's the go signal."

"A head start?" Uzuki asked. "Why?"

"Have to make things a little fair, after all. Just a little."

Uzuki kept staring, watching as pairs began to form, slowly but surely. The number of bonds she saw increased, while those not yet paired off searched frantically for someone to hold onto.

Her phone buzzed just as she spotted her target. A girl, who looked to be her age or older. A college student, perhaps. She recognized the frantic look on her face, the pure shock of being surrounded-and yet being ignored. She tried to yell, to alert passerby who just couldn't see her-and her cries, of course, went ignored.

No one else in sight.

"Do it," Kariya hissed.

Uzuki froze-shouldn't she give the girl a fighting chance? Kariya gave her one, after all.

"Kiddo," Kariya warned, "do it now or you'll be Erased. You have a clear shot."

"But she's-" Uzuki stammered, even as she closed her fist, extending it towards the girl.

"She's unlucky. Do it now or lose your own right to exist."

_Ten._

Uzuki's hand clenched even tighter.

_Nine._

She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the horror on the girl's face.

_Eight._

With a deep breath, she unclenched her fist, sending a burst of Noise-the same lizard Noise she had encountered-towards her.

_Seven._

The Noise bounded towards their target, enveloping her in a rush of claws and hisses.

_Six._

The girl backed into Hachiko as she tried to hit and kick the Noise, her efforts useless.

_Five._

"Open your eyes."

_Four._

Uzuki obeyed Kariya's command, relieved-and worried-that she could still see her target.

_Three._

"MIO!" A yell from a boy about the same age, rushing to her aid.

_Two._

He jumped into the fray.

_One._

A little too late.

_Zero._

Uzuki recalled the Noise, the pair having vanished. She dropped her hand in shock, only staring at the cleared street in amazement-and pure horror. She had killed someone-no, worse than that. She had obliterated someone.

"Starting off our Reaper career with a bang, are we?" Kariya asked, who had spent Uzuki's time fumbling and second-guessing still casually sucking on his candy.

"I—I-" Uzuki couldn't find the words.

"-did the right thing." Kariya finished her sentence for her. "Look. If those two had survived, they'd be in for a worse fate-maybe I don't like to work, but plenty of other Reapers do. And they're not one for playing by the rules."

Uzuki didn't hear him. She was far too busy dry heaving in an alleyway, trying to keep the contents of her stomach down.

Two weeks ago, murder didn't even cross her mind.

Kariya sighed and moved behind her, pulling the hair back from her face so she could retch in peace.

The moment passed, Uzuki finally making her way to her feet.

"You survived your first day," Kariya congratulated. "It's smooth sailing from here, you know."

"It gets easier?" she asked.

"Much. Now c'mon, the players are unconscious. Let's go get some ramen; I'll even buy you a bowl."

The Dead Gods Pad was empty, save for the fish swimming silently under the floor. During the day, it was quite peaceful.

That peace, however, was shattered by the arrival of both Konishi and Kitaniji. Both made a drink, both selected plush chairs and sat silently, waiting for the reports to pour in. Erasures, dozens of them. Not as many as she had hoped for; she'd have to step up the difficulty.

"The girl," Kitaniji said.

Konishi looked up from her tablet. "The girl?"

"The new Reaper. One would have to be blind to miss her."

"Oh." Konishi returned her attention to the tablet. "She Erased two players in one shot."

"An auspicious beginning," Kitaniji murmured, the ice clinking in his whiskey as he absently stirred it. Of course, many Reapers had come and gone through their pad-many with promising beginnings.

None with happy endings.


End file.
